"I remember the teachers at my first elementary school. They were pillars of wisdom! When I moved on to attend two other elementary schools, I found the same applied to those teachers. They trained us how to think, not just what to think. In first grade, we stood on bleachers to sing rounds of music. In second grade, mathematics and reading were central. In third grade, I recall sitting in a reading circle waiting for my turn to read. I still have a Reading Circle certificate from many years ago!

We had a book mobile that traveled from school-to-school. It was pure delight moving along the narrow aisle of shelves searching for treasures. In fourth grade, we began reading chapter books, and Ms. Neal read a chapter a day out of two books that I remember well. One was the Diary of Anne Frank and the other (the title escapes me) was about a family that harvested ginseng. Ms. Neal was quite creative, and we used art as a tool of learning in most subjects in that classroom. Some said she was too strict, but for me she was the reason I did not miss a single day of school during my fourth grade year! And yes, I still have that certificate of perfect attendance too.

My life is modeled after the pillars of wisdom that have gone before me. I have become what I have thought about, and thanks to all of those wonderful teacher/mentors in my life, I am much the better for it!" ~ Freda